Lexus IS300

It isn't as much a clone of the BMW 3-series as it is a unique expression of the same genre.

October 2000
By
BARRY WINFIELD
Photos By
AARON KILEY

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Don't bring a knife to a gunfight. That's the advice offered in the movie The Untouchables, and you have to wonder if the guys at Lexus missed that part. The weapon they could have brought to a showdown between their new IS300 and the quick-draw BMW 328i is a manual transmission.

Instead, the IS300 walks Main Street with just a five-shooter automatic in its holster. That's because, in our power-hungry U.S. market, this model gets the brawny 3.0-liter straight-six engine from the GS300. That motor has too much torque for the six-speed stick shift used in the 2.0-liter IS200 model in other markets, so that manual obviously can't be used.

Therefore, we get the GS300's five-speed automatic, along with a similar steering-wheel-mounted pushbutton override system. A manual is on the way, says Lexus, but the immediate lack of a manual gearbox may not be a problem in a certain kind of shootout anyway. Such as in a battle for customers who like the idea of a 3-series-size sport-luxury sedan with an automatic, but who might be swayed by the likely Lexus virtues of slick build quality, certain durability, and low ownership costs.

Similar in size and mission to its German rival the IS300 may be, but it has its own distinctive look as well as a quite different personality. For one thing, Lexus has designed an interior with its own unique flavor.

Eschewing the somewhat stereotypical nature of typical sports sedans, it has adopted a quite quirky instrument panel modeled on the look of a contemporary chronograph wristwatch face.

And where one might expect a leather-wrapped gearshift knob, in the IS300 you find a chrome ball that could be at home in a PT Cruiser. Instead of a monochrome interior, you find titanium strips enclosing the instrument binnacle, surrounding the center console, and forming the surface of the stereo system.

Other design motifs consciously repeated around the car are ribbed indentations found above the dash and echoed in the door moldings and on the gear-selector housing, and oval forms repeated on the gear-selector housing and dashboard vent registers. Our car also wore the stylish optional perforated leather and Escaine (suede) upholstery on seat surfaces and door cappings, which is definitely recommended.

Whatever you think of the IS interior, it's certainly not inspired by the typical Teutonic coal bin. And despite the seemingly eccentric design touches, it is still neutral enough in tone that you don't feel as though you're stuck in an art deco display.

Nonetheless, what you see when you look under the hood is a lot more classical in style. Tidily exhibited there is a sophisticated twin-cam straight-six. Its chief virtue is torque. Lots of it, supplied with an almost soft, creamy delivery that often understates its effect. Mysteriously, traffic always drops away faster than you expect it to.

A careless prod at the accelerator when leaving a stop sign quickly demonstrates how much torque is on tap, as well as how tight the torque-converter calibrations are. It's easy to snap your head back, and you soon learn to toe gently into the throttle for smooth and gradual takeoffs.

For quick sprints to 60 mph, smoothness isn't necessary. With the traction control switched off, the transmission power-mode button depressed, and the car held on the brake briefly at full throttle, our car completed this little task in 7.6 seconds. Which, unfortunately, is 0.5 second slower than Lexus's claim for the feat. Since the company is usually a bit conservative about these things, we're wondering why our car ran slow.

Similarly, our quarter-mile time of 15.9 seconds took 0.6 second longer than what Lexus engineers expected. But less predictable was the fact that the IS300 ran just about exactly the maximum speed claimed for it: 144 mph.

None of this altered the experience of driving the car much. It still felt adequately fast and had more than enough power to rip through the mountains and conduct itself effortlessly to speeds well in excess of what the control freaks will generally tolerate.

And although the tach redline is not dizzyingly high at 6250 rpm, the close-ratio five-speed keeps the needle swinging close to that point during hard acceleration runs, and the engine sounds happy to run those speeds all day. Perhaps a better-broken-in example (ours had only 1750 miles on the dial) will do this and attain the performance numbers expected of it.

Whatever the state of the powertrain, our car had steering that was keenly accurate, showing no corruption of the line in every situation up to the point when the front end ran out of grip and began to push wide. In normal driving, it never wandered offline or required correction to keep it between the stripes.

Despite a lack of heft in the wheel, thanks to generous steering assist, the surgically precise steering combines with the car's nimble disposition (not to mention a transmission that kicks down in the blink of an eye) to provide all the moves you need in suburban traffic.

There's a combination of calm composure and sporting athleticism that is quite schizophrenic, and one of its manifestations is the way this car's suspension reads road texture. Along the freeway on smooth new pavement, it's really quiet. Wind noise is well subdued, and the engine purrs a pleasant but muted tone.

But hit some broken or rough pavement, and the suspension broadcasts the sound into the cabin like a skateboard. One minute the IS300 is a relaxed cruiser, slowing everything down and showing a high degree of poise. Next thing it's thumping along like a sports car. Add some strong crosswinds at 80 or so, and you'll even hear the door seals hiss. Mainly, though, it's quiet. Even at high speed.

This split personality shows in the handling, too. The car carves corners like a scalpel until you push hard, then it understeers fairly shrilly, and you have to back off. Although the ride is good and body motions are generally well restrained, there comes a point when the grip and the lack of roll stiffness meet head-on, producing a peculiar rear-end wallow in corners.

The Jekyll and Hyde thing is there in the manumatic mode of the transmission, too. If you stay on the gas, it plays along. Forget about it for a moment as your speed drops, and then mash the pedal for more power while still in fifth gear, and the system will automatically downshift for you.

At less than full throttle, it will also perform uncalled-for upshifts. However, this particular bipolarity is pretty benign, often even downright welcome.

The powerful braking performance is always totally welcome. With big 11.6-inch vented discs up front and even bigger solid rotors in back, the IS300 has enormously reassuring braking power. Its stopping distance from 70 mph (at 171 feet) may not humble an M3, but it's good for a 3380-pound car on 215-section tires.

All in all, this is a thoroughly likable car, and with pricing at $30,995 to open and just over $35,000 fully loaded, the price is right. Despite inevitable comparisons with 3-series BMWs -- some undoubtedly to appear in this magazine -- it may turn out to be the differences rather than the similarities between the models that attract buyers to the little Lexus.

Vive la difference, and all that.

BRAD NEVINI often say that if I ever had to leave this magazine and buy a car of my own, I would buy a BMW 3-series. To me, it's the perfect car -- refined, balanced, and aggressive all at once. Knowing that Lexus shrugged off its appliancelike reputation with the GS400, I could barely wait to drive the IS300 to see how it compared. Immediately, I thought the IS300 was gutsy and fun to drive hard. The styling is dynamite. It's a player. But the IS300 felt less compliant than the 3-series, and when I drove over a railroad crossing at a modest clip, one of the wheels banged the suspension hard against the stops. Ouch! It's close, but I still want a 3-series.

FRANK MARKUSMom's ready for a new car, and with the nest empty at last, she's shopping fun four-doors. Something in a size "3." She's not taking up autocrossing and she won't row her own, so the IS300 -- especially its bargain pricing -- piqued her interest. Mom, I prescribe a BMW 323i or Audi A4. They ride far smoother (even with sport suspensions), they handle better, their roomier interiors feel classier and more special, and their available fold-down rear seatbacks will accommodate more garage-sale loot. The skinny, hard interior of the IS, although stylish, seems downscale by comparison. Lexus is new to the luxo-sport-compact biz, and judging by the taste of this first batch of ISs, the recipe needs some fine-tuning. Maybe next car, Mom.

CSABA CSEREWith its funky taillights, fat chrome tail pipe, and skinny-sidewall 17-inch tires, the IS300 was a magnet for enthusiastic attention everywhere I drove it. The sporty little Lexus also has a decidedly athletic feel, with sharp steering, a taut ride, excellent grip, and racy steering-wheel-mounted buttons to control its automatic gearbox. Compared with the class-defining BMW 328, however, the IS300's ride is less refined and its interior is less plush. Still, with a sticker price that's multiple thousands below the Bimmer's and the promise of Lexus quality and reliability, the IS300 is a worthy entry in the sports-sedan market.

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